What’s the weekly mettle maker? Training tips and educational information in support of our free programs, that’s what! What’s mettle? According the American Heritage Dictionary, mettle is, “The ability to meet a challenge or persevere under demanding circumstances; determination or resolve.”
Mettle Maker #331
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Our Fifth Annual Mettlecraft Month is about to wrap up. But there’s still time take a run at the challenge — go here for details — and to get a picture of yourself posted here! Here’s a shot of James after putting up a blistering time of just 13:28!
Fitness — Is there too such a thing as too much water? According to a recent study widely reported in the news, Bruce Lee died from cerebral oedema caused by his body’s inability to clear excess water. Most sources state that drinking about 3 liters of fluids per day is sufficient for most people under normal conditions. That’s total fluid intake — most doctors no longer advise drinking eight glasses of water in addition to other liquids. You don’t need to force yourself to drink additional water if your urine is clear and you don’t feel thirsty. But if you’re drinking that much water and aren’t urinating at least six times per day, something could be wrong. For more details read this informative Mayo Clinic article. Interested in a free fitness distance learning program? Check out our free programs here.
Self-Defense — Are you drowning in techniques? How many techniques do you really need? You are not a shark. If you insist on patrolling the oceans of martial arts trying to snag new techniques, you just might drown in them. How many do you need? Well, you need enough new techniques to keep you from getting bored, but no more new material you can train regularly. You should be spending the vast majority of your time training and drilling the foundational skills and methods. And when you find something better, jettison the old skill and replace it with a new one (or a new-and-improved version of the old one). Want some help sorting this out? Sign up for one of our free distance learning programs.
Wildwood — Water is life. No water? No life. In a survival situation, without water you’re dead in about three days. What if you find yourself stranded with no water bottle? What could you make to hold water? Well, I doubt you’ll be able to find a gourd and enough beeswax or paraffin to make a water bottle and finish it properly. But maybe, if you learned the skills, you could apply them to other materials. Could you, let’s say, make a water bag from the knotted leg of your cotton pants and an unscented paraffin survival candle? Watch the video below to learn more. Want to learn more? Sign up for the free Wildwood nature appreciation and survival distance learning program.
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Homily for the First Day of Advent, Nov. 27th, 2022 – Archdeacon Mitch
Readings: Is 2:1-5, Ps 122: 1-2, 3-4, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9, Rom 13:11-14, Mt 24:37-44
Matthew 24:37-44 World English Bible Catholic Edition
Jesus said to his disciples: “As the days of Noah were, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38 For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ship, 39 and they didn’t know until the flood came and took them all away, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 40 Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and one will be left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and one will be left. 42 Watch therefore, for you don’t know in what hour your Lord comes. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what watch of the night the thief was coming, he would have watched, and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. 44 Therefore also be ready, for in an hour that you don’t expect, the Son of Man will come.”
Brothers and sisters, there’s not a geologist in the world who won’t tell you that floods swept the world after the last glacial period ended. That’s why virtually every culture on earth has a flood myth. Many of the world’s plants, animals, and people were wiped out by real floods in the distant past. So: did the biblical flood of Noah really happen? Sure. Maybe the particulars aren’t exact, like the precise dimensions of the ark. No 300-cubit-long replica – that’s over 500 feet! – of the ark has every successfully floated. That’s because it is a fact of science that the practical size limit of a ship, due to the material limits of spliced wooden beams, is about half that. So what? The message is 100% true. The biblical flood happened. And there will be more literal floods in the future, both large and small. They’re in the news every day.
But the flood was a spiritual flood too. Noah, a righteous man, was surrounded on every side by corruption, lawlessness, and immorality. He and his family were at very real risk of drowning in the waters of chaos and iniquity. But he sheltered his family from all of that. He showed them right from wrong. He explained to them the structure of the universe, taught them about God’s creation, educated them about how God is the foundation of culture, morality, and science. Doesn’t the story say that Noah build an impossibly large boat and brought into it pairs of every animal species and the seeds of every plant? What a metaphor! No one could do what Noah did without being an expert in every field – in construction, science, law, education, and parenting.
Here's the thing though: Jesus Christ is just like Noah, only better. Our Lord does this over and over again. The story of every biblical patriarch, from Adam down to David, is the story of an imperfect predecessor of Jesus Christ. Adam is the first man, but Jesus is first perfect Man. Moses is a great high priest, but Jesus is the perfect high priest. David is a great king, but Jesus Christ is a perfect King.
So yes, Jesus Christ is the perfect Noah. His knowledge of science and law is perfect because he is the creator of the universe and the architect of both existence and goodness. He has built for us an ark in the form of a church into which we can bring our families and our extended church families. In it we preserve our knowledge, our wisdom, and our faith against the flood of chaos and corruption threatening to drown the world around us.
Yes indeed, Jesus Christ is the perfect Noah. He teaches us how to build our bodies, minds, and spirits into arks that can ride on the waves of decadence and evil and withstand the torrential rains of selfishness and ignorance that are always and forever falling around us.
Let us strive, as the children of Noah and Jesus Christ, to make ourselves and our churches into arks that can withstand the eternal floods of this world.